The Ocarina of Time
The Ocarina of Time was released in Japan on November 21st 1998, November 23rd 1998 for North America and December the 11th 1998 for Europe. The initial ideas were for this game to be released on the Nintendo 64DD add on which wasn't a success and wasn't release outside of Japan because of poor sales. It was the largest capacity game at the time released on a 256 megabit cartridge. The Ocarina of Time is the fifth Zelda game in the series but definitely would come early on in the timeline as it features the creating of Hyrule and the origins of The Triforce.
The Story - The Origins of Hyrule
Navi the fairy finds the young hero Link whom is terrorized by a nightmare of a man on horseback chasing a girl and her guardian. Once Link has awoke from his bad dream Navi takes him to visit The Great Deku Tree. Link firstly destroys the demon inside The Deku Tree to break the curse only to discover his own destiny. The Deku Tree warns Link of Gannon and his plot to take over Hyrule by possessing the Triforce to use in his own acts of evil. Link must travel to Hyrule town to meet his fate and The Princess Zelda. In a quest through time will thou get the girl? Or play like one.
Transformation
The first thing you will have noticed by picking up this game when it first arrived on the Nintendo 64 would have been was the transformation into 3-D. Before Link was just flat animated sprites not to take credit away from earlier games but Nintendo really went to town with The Ocarina of Time and brought life into characters and backgrounds.
How it Plays
Nothing has been taken away from this epic quest it is more from the action, adventure slight role playing bound full of puzzles. You control the hero Link walking and running around is monitored depicting on how much pressure is engaged on the joystick. Once you obtain items one of the first being the sword you can attack by pressing the button relative by repeatedly hacking away to perform a combo. This epic see's the return of the swirling blade once the attack button is held down for a short amount of time and released Link unleashes a spinning attack which later on in the game is enhance with the addition of magic.
The controls on The Ocarina of Time introduced the Z-Targeting system whereby your fairy friend Navi hovers over an object or enemy and if you select the z button it is possible to lock onto that point. Once locked on Link becomes engaged in a battle style motion where you can jump sideward's or even somersault. This technique has proved popular in Zelda quests being originated in The Ocarina of Time. Depending on Links surroundings Navi will also alert you when there is an object you can interactive with. Link may walk up to a box and the action button will tell you whether you can push or pull that particular item. Navi will give you clues on where to go next if you are stuck
There is a wide variety of items to obtain from the overworld and the dungeons in the underworld along with side quests which do not necessarily have to be completed in order to finish the game. Completing side quest can result in a reward such as an extra heart container, 4 of these result in a new whole container meaning more life for battles. A fairy caught in a bottle will bring you back to life similar to A Link to the Past or you can store various other items inside such as fish or bugs. One of the greatest rewards from a side quest has to be befriending the illustrious Epona. With Epona you can call upon her using the Ocarina and travel much faster than on foot, however Epona will only travel on the majority of Hyrule open land.
Link is handed a Fairy Ocarina early on by Saria which later becomes The Ocarina of Time. This is a vital instrument and item throughout the game as Link must learn melodies to open the pathway to a dungeon or show the sign of royalty with Zelda's lullaby along with many other actions. Once Link is taught the Song of Time and the first forest dungeon has been completed it is possible to travel between time, at one age a child and another 7 years passed with the wealth of knowledge and the legendary Master Sword with the fate of Hyrule in his hands.
Characters in the Game
There are many different races in The Ocarina of Time which was the birth for these to be used in the latest Zelda adventures. Before The Ocarina of Time there didn't seem to be as memorable characters that played such an important role. You will meet upon this quest:
- Hylians - The pointy eared town folk offer friendly advice
- Kokiri - The forest children that never grow up think as Link as their own however are surprised once he can actually leave the forest.
- Gorons - They are big in statue but have a soft heart. Link protects them from Volvagia, an evil dragon creature that eats Gorons for lunch.
- Zoras - A peaceful race that like to swim around and serve their master until lord Jabu-Jabu acts strangely Link must return all back to normal.
- Gerudos - These are the sexiest of all only one male is born into their race every hundred years. They are skilled with a blade and should be taken with caution as they do not appreciate trespassers.
Reinventing The Zelda Series
Without a doubt one of the best Zelda games in the series and on the N64 with the lack of games at least every one made by first party companies were blissful. I first got this game on December the 23rd 1998 despite ordering the game on my birthday the previous month in the year. How annoying is that ordering a game and not even getting it on the release date? I think the company must have gone bust or something anyhow since I haven't heard of them, ah the days of mail order now it's all over the internet now.
I finally received The Ocarina of Time even though it was about to be wrapped up for a Christmas present, I slammed it in the N64 and couldn't wait. I was not disappointed I couldn't put the game down it had me gripped from start to finish and if you are in the small minority that hasn't played this game in one form or another then you simply must because I feel it still plays well these days. In my own opinion I think people think far too much about graphics and less about gameplay but this had a good combination of both. I am still playing The Master Quest on the GC Zelda collection disk.
Sounds: Surprisingly they didn't even feature the signature Zelda theme but it was orchestrated so well all is forgiven.
Graphics: Absolutely fantabulous pushed the system to its limits.
Replayability: Sadly not really a lot to come back to unless there are secrets missed first time around. I suggest playing The Master Quest for an entire set of altered dungeons.
I Award The Ocarina of Time: 10/10
Facts & SecretsAfter beating the race at Lon Lon ranch for Epona, race again and get the best time you can something like 49 seconds or below to unlock a cow for your tree house. When you enter the Hyrule Castle courtyard, look at the right window. Peek inside the window and you will see paintings of Mario, Peach, Yoshi, Luigi, and Bowser. |